Wire carrier



June 1, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,186,558

WIRE CARRIER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 T s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ROBERTKOHN MORTIMER C. WINSKI BY] T U ATTORNEYS June 1, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL3,135,653

WIRE CARRIER Filed Jan. 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR5 ROBERT KOHNMORTIMER C. WINSKI ATTORNEYS June 1, 1965 R. KOHN ETAL 3,185,658

WIRE CARRIER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS ROBERT KOHNMORTIMER C. WINSKI AT TORNEYS United States Patent CARRIER Robert Kuhn,and Mortimer C. Winski, Michigan City, Ind., assignors to NorthernIndiana Steel Supply Co., Inc., Michigan City, Ind, a corporation ofIndiana Filed Jan. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 253,851 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-129)The present invention relates to wire carriers and more particularly towire carriers of the collapsible type for use primarly in winding andunwinding, transporting and storing coils of wire.

The conventional carrier for coils of wire consists of a plurality ofvertically positioned rods or tubes in spaced relation on a disc-shapedbase, with the rods or tubes being joined to the base and at the top toone another by welding. Wire carriers of this type are completed at thefabricating plant, and stacked together by nesting for stor ing .andshipping. While a number of these carriers can be nested to form arelatively compact unit or package, the nested packages are difficult tohandle and store and can not conveniently be shipped or stored withoutusing an excessive amount of space, thus increasing substantially theshipping and storage costs. Further, this type of carrier is necessarilymade relatively heavy and bulky in order to obtain the required amountof strength, particularly in the disc base. It is therefore one of theprincipal objects of the present invention to provide a relativelysimple and light weight collapsible wire carrier of tubular constructionwhich can be fully formed at the fabricating plan-t, shipped indisassembled, compact condition to the place where it is to be used, andthen readily assembled for immediate use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tubularcollapsible wire carrier, the parts of which can be easily fabricatedusing standard metal forming equipment and thereafter easily assembledusing simple, readily available tools and without the use of any weldingoperation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide wire carriers of theaforesaid type which can be assembled at the place where they are to beused and thereafter easily stacked together by nesting for storage andfurther transporting, and which, if desired, can easily be disassembledand reassembled without the use of any special tools or equipment.

A further object is to provide a rugged tubular wire carrier of thecollapsible or knock-down type, all the parts of which can be fabricatedfully from standard steel tubing and thereafter nested or stacked intocompact, easily handled packages for shipping and storing in a minimumamount of space.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire carrier of theaforesaid type which can be removed from and reinserted in a coil ofwire, and from which the wire can be unwound vertically while thecarrier is stationary, or horizontally while the carrier is rotated on areel for handling coiled wire.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description and accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present Wire carrier showing it inits assembled condition;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the wire carrier shown in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the wire carrier shown in the precedingfigures;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of one of the principal elementsforming the present wire carrier;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the wire carrier element as shownin FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the wire carrier element shown in FIGURES4 and 5.

In the manufacturing from wire of such products as bolts, nails, screws,fences, clothes hangers and reinforced concrete wire mesh, the wire iswound on carriers, and these carriers are mounted on reels which feedthe wire into fabricating machines for the various products. Inconventional or standard pa -off reels, the wire is pulled from thecarrier, either vertically, during which the carrier remains stationary,or horizontally, during which the reel is rotated by the force appliedto the wire by the fabricating machine. When the wire has been removedfrom the carrier, the carrier is removed from the reel and returned tothe place where the wire is manufactured for receiving another coil ofwire. The wire may be wound directly on a particular carrier where itremains until unwound, the original carrier remaining in the coil untilthe coil is unwound from the reel, or the wire may be wound on onecarrier and the carrier removed from the coil, the coil shipped to theplace where the wire products are fabricated, and another carrierreinserted in the coil ready for mounting on the pay-off reel. Theconventional wire carriers, consisting of vertically positioned rods ortubes on a disc-shaped base are fabricated from steel and are difficultto handle and ship in quantities and to store economically.

Referring specifically to the present wire carrier shown in thedrawings, which overcomes the inherent disadvantages of the foregoingconventional wire carrier, numeral 10 designates the wire carrierconsisting of a base 12 of tubular construction, and vertical tubularmembers 14, 16, 18 and 20 secured at their lower ends to base 12 andjoined by horizontally positioned arms 22, 24, 26 and 28, respectively,to one another at their upper ends. These members slant inwardlyslightly from bottom to top to permit the wire coil to be removed fromthe carrier and to be inserted thereon with little difficulty and topermit the carriers to be stacked by nesting one on top of the other.

The tubular base is preferably formed of a single length of standardtubular material into the modified four leaf clover configuration shownin FIGURES 1 and 3, and joined together at its ends at numeral 30,preferably by welding. The base of the configuration shown has fourprotruding members 32, 34, 36 and 38 spaced at and joined to one anotherby inner looped portions 40, 42, 44 and 46. Protruding members 32, 34,36 and 38 form supports for the wire coils placed over the four verticalmembers and constitute the footing for the carrier. The base 12 isinitially formed separately from the vertical members and is thereafterjoined rigidly to the members in the manner more fully describedhereinafter.

Vertical members are formed in pairs as a modified U-shaped element 50in which arms 22 and 24, for example, are attached to the upper ends ofmembers 14 and 16, respectively, and attached to one another at thecenter. Two of elements 50 form the complete vertical structure with thefour vertical members. The ends of members 14, 16, 18 and 20 are securedto the inner connecting portions 40, 42, 44 and 46 of the base bydeformable hooks 52 and 54 on the lower ends of element 50. After thehooks have been placed around members 40 and 42, the hooks are bentinwardly to firmly grip the base and retain the respective elements inplace thereon. The upper ends of the two elements 50 are joined rigidlytogether, preferably by a rivet or bolt 69, extending through hole 62 inthe center of member 51 of the two elements 50, thus forming a rigidstructure between the two members, which in turn form a rigid structurewith base 12. If desired, a clamp may be used to secure portions 51together in place of the rivet or bolt.

, Hooks52 and 54, while shown in the drawings as being formed integrallywith members 14 and 16, for example,

may be formed as separate-members andvinserted in the lower ends oftubular members 14 and 16 and secured It is seen from FIGURES4, 5 and 6that elements 50 I can be readily stacked by nesting one upon the othertoform a compact package in which the elements are retainedtogether bytwo or three metal bands. Likewise, the bases 12, when separated fromelements 50', can be stacked one upon the otherand secured together by aplurality of metal bands, forming a compact, easily handled package. Thepackages formed by the nested elements 50 and stacked bases 12 can beeasily and economically shipped and stored. After the elements and baseshave beenshipped to their destination, two elements and one base can bereadily joined together in the manner previously described to form therigid, permanent structure shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3.

In addition to tubular material, rod or bar stock, round or rectangularin cross section, may be used to form the present carrier, and the termrod-like when used in the claims is intended to mean and includetubular, rod and bar material. While only one embodiment of theforegoing collapsible or knocked down wire carrier has :been describedin detail herein, various changes and modifications may be made tosatisfy requirements.

We claim:

1 A tubular, collapsible wire carrier, comprising a base of tubularmaterial having four arcuate outwardly extending lobes and four arcuateinwardly extending lobes disposed between said fist mentioned lobes'andjoined theretogto form a four leaf clover configuration, said tubular.material being joined at its ends to form a continuous structure, twoseparate elements of tubular construction and inverted U'shapedconfiguration, each having two substantially vertical members and agenerally U-shaped member' joined integrally to the upper ends of saidmembers and extending inwardly substantially horizontally, hook-likefixtures on the bottom of each vertical member for securing the lowerends of 'said vertical members to the innermost portion of the inwardlyextending lobes,

and means for securing the U-shaped members of said two elementstogether to form a rigid carrier structure.

2. A wire carrier, comprising a base of rod-like construction havingfour arcuate outwardly extending lobes and four arcuate inwardlyextending lobes between said first mentioned lobes forming a four leafclover configuration, two separate elementsiof rod-like.construction andinverted U-shaped configuration, each having two substantially verticalmembers and a generallyU-shaped member joined integrally to the upperends of said memvertical members and a generally U-shaped member joinedintegrally to the upper ends rof said members and extending inwardly,means for'securing 'the lower ends of said vertical members to theinnermost portion of the inwardly extending lobes, and means forsecuring the U-shaped members of said .two elements together to form arigid carrier structure.

4. A wire carrier, comprising a base of tubular material having fourarcuate outwardly extending lobes and four arcuate inwardly extendinglobes between said first mentioned lobes, two separate elements oftubular construction and inverted U-shaped configuration, each havingtwo substantially vertical members and a generally U-shaped memberjoined integrally to the upper ends of said members and extendinginwardly means for securing the lower ends of said verticalmembers tothe innermost portion of the inwardly extendinglobes, and means forsecuring the U-shaped members of said two elements together to form arigid carrier structure;

2/23 Schane 242-77.2 3/63 Bittman 242-129 MERVIN STEIN, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A TUBULAR, COLLAPSIBLE WIRE CARRIER, COMPRISING A BASE OF TUBULARMATERIAL HAVING FOUR ARCUATE OUTWARDLY EXTENDING LOBES AND FOUR ARCUATEINWARDLY EXTENDING LOBES DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID FIRST MENTIONED LOBES ANDJOINED THERETO TO FORM A FOUR LEAF CLOVER CONFIGURATION, SAID TUBULARMATERIAL BEING JOINED AT ITS END TO FORM A CONTINUOUS STRUCTURE, TWOSEPARATE ELEMENTS OF TUBULAR CONSTRUCTION AND INVERTED U-SHAPEDCONFIGURATION, EACH HAVING TWO SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL MEMBERS AND AGENERALLY U-SHAPED MEMBER JOINED INTEGRALLY TO THE UPPER ENDS OF SAIDMEMBERS AND EXTENDING INWARDLY SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY, HOOK-LIKEFIXTURES ON THE BOTTOM OF EACH VERTICAL MEMBER FOR SECURING THE LOWERENDS OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS TO THE INNERMOST PORTION OF THE INWARDLYEXTENDING LOBES, AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE U-SHAPED MEMBERS OF SAID TWOELEMENTS TOGETHER TO FORM A RIGID CARRIER STRUCTURE.